Act of Violence (1948) User Reviews (87)

Post war scabs are picked off with noirish bleakness by Zinnerman and his terrific cast.

[hitchcockthelegend · 8/10 · 20 July 2010]

Act of Violence is directed by Fred Zinnemann and adapted for the screen by Robert L. Richards from a story by Collier Young. It stars Van Heflin, Robert Ryan, and Janet Leigh, with support coming from Mary Astor, Phyllis Thaxter & Berry Kroeger. Robert Surtees photographs it from various California locations and Bronislau Kaper provides the music that is conducted by André Previn.

An Embittered former POW (Ryan) is hell bent on revenge against his former commanding officer (Heflin) who betrayed his men's planned escape attempt from a Nazi prison camp.

Superior film noir piece that is not only boasting a taut, intelligent and suspenseful story to work from, but also a collective group of film makers on tip top form. The film primarily looks at the point of view of the troubled soldiers who upon returning from war are mentally and physically shot. Some are thriving as the economy in the post war times has picked up, while others are carrying the legacy of battle - - with deep long memories gnawing away with every battle scarred step. They say time is a big healer, particularly with the passing of loved ones and the willingness to forgive those who have done you wrong. But the makers here are not in that frame of mind. The ghosts of the past are not content to sit around in Surtees' menacing shadows, they want out, and with Ryan & Heflin deftly channelling different, yet very flawed, characters, the result is a tough, and at times, fascinating viewing experience.

Zinnerman, one can reasonably assume, gave his heart for this one. Having fled Austria to escape the Nazis, his heart would be shattered as his parents would become part of that dark piece of history that encompassed the Holocaust. The grim texture {Surtees again dealing in genius like mood enhancements} of the piece carries an air of realism, a need to cast out some demons in the form of cinema. The ending will cause some consternation to first time viewers: definitely! But personally I think it's closure for the director; and to us the viewers it should (has) make for an interesting conversation piece about noir and the way to finish off one of its dark offspring. As for the cast? Ryan & Heflin are superb, two of the finest character actors from the golden era of Westerns and Noirs. But rest assured that here the girls are also their equal. Leigh gives gravitas to the role of the courageous, loving and fretful wife of Heflin's tortured soul. Thaxter blends common sense with anguished loyalty as the girlfriend of Ryan's malevolent cripple. While Astor almost steals the film from the guys as a brassy woman of the bars and streets who takes Heflin in off the now dangerous avenues and alleyways.

Smart, pangy and dripping with noir style, Act Of Violence has so much going for it, and equally as much to say. 8/10

Ryan, Heflin as hunter and prey in look at WWII's dark aftermath

[bmacv · 8/10 · 30 August 2001]

This grim look a couple of demobbed soldiers continuing their private war at home rarely get mentioned in lists of essential noirs; maybe, upon release in 1949, it was just a little too close for comfort -- hinting a truths the victorious American public were unwilling to acknowledge. If so, the film has yet to be rediscovered --or reappraised. Van Heflin is living out the modest American dream in sunny California when into his life strides an old combat buddy, Robert Ryan (at his most menacing, which is nothing to sneeze at). To his wife's (Janet Leigh's) consternation, Heflin takes it on the lam, and slowly we learned what happened, or may have happened, over in a POW camp in the European Theater of War. As Heflin's flight takes him into seedier and more sinister surroundings, he links up with Mary Astor, living on the vague border of prostitution. (After helping to launch the cycle with her spectacular turn as Brigid O'Shaugnessey in The Maltese Falcon, Astor appeared in disappointingly few film noir; her expert performance here makes one wonder why, why, why?) Though the script opts for a strange and bitter "redemptive" ending, the acrid taste of Act of Violence lingers long.

Done A Terrible Wrong

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 13 August 2010]

Neither Van Heflin or Robert Ryan were ever considered matinée idols or big box office draws. But both men were consummate professionals who could cast well in a variety of roles. I think that Act Of Violence could have worked just as well if they had played each other's parts.

MGM was a studio that did not do noir films very often, but in this case with Fred Zinnemann directing they did this one very well. No cops or private eyes in this one, both men are your average American of 1948. One has done a terrible wrong to the other and the other is seeking revenge.

Heflin is a former pilot who was shot down over Germany during World War II and Ryan was his bombardier. They both did time in a POW camp where Heflin informed on escape plans that Ryan and others made. No one survived but Ryan and he now walks with a limp, courtesy of Nazi machine gunners.

In civilian life Heflin is now a very successful contractor and when he hears Ryan is looking for him, he gets naturally rattled which concerns his wife Janet Leigh. Heflin who was not going to go to a convention in Los Angeles now changes his mind abruptly, but not before explaining to Leigh the reason for his fear. It's more fear of being exposed than for his life.

In Los Angeles Heflin who won his Oscar for Johnny Eager playing an alcoholic borrows a bit from that role as he ends up in a waterfront dive pouring his troubles out to some lowlifes played by Mary Astor, Taylor Holmes, and Berry Kroeger. Holmes is also drawing a bit from a previous role as a shyster lawyer in Kiss Of Death as he's playing the same kind of character in seedier circumstances. In fact Holmes's character says he is an attorney. I know Fred Zinnemann must have seen Kiss Of Death and cast Holmes as a result of that.

The climax might not be what you think, but in a way it's a fitting ending to the story. Though they get good support from the rest of the cast Heflin and Ryan dominate the story though they have no scenes together until the end. Act Of Violence is a noir classic and fans of Heflin and Ryan should list it among their best performances.

Zinnemann again looks at the aftermath of war

[clore_2 · 17 November 2003]

In "Seventh Cross" director Fred Zinnemann depicted the isolation of a concentration camp escapee (Spencer Tracy) with MGM studio sets stepping in for actual locations - that would have been impossible at the time. In "The Search" he made use of a ruined Berlin to tell the story of a very young concentration camp survivor - a young boy separated from his mother - using the ruins as a metaphor for the many ruined lives.

In "Act of Violence" Zinnemann returns to the aftermath of war - this time telling of two prisoner-of-war camp survivors, one of whom was a Nazi collaborator, the other one a vengeful fellow prisoner who takes it upon himself to track down and kill his former friend. Cinematographer Robert Surtees makes great use of Los Angeles' seedier parts of town - I was reminded of how his son Bruce Surtees made similar effective use of San Francisco in "Dirty Harry" - this is noir at its best, not only in cinematic terms, but with those "only come out at night" characters you expect in a top notch thriller.

Mary Astor is most effective as the barfly (couldn't make her a prostitute, though it is more than obvious) - and after her performance in the garish "Desert Fury" it's nice to see her in black-and-white again. We first meet her in a pub in which Van Heflin runs for sanctuary, the lighting there has us admiring the way she has held up, but when we move to the harsher lighting of her apartment (the lamp hanging on a cord is unshaded), we realize that the first impression was too kind. It's a magnificent performance - perhaps the best that I've seen of her.

Barry Kroeger, whose altogether too infrequent appearances included such noir classics as "Cry of the City" and "Gun Crazy," makes the most of his few moments as an underworld "enforcer" who would be quite willing to kill Ryan for a price. While Ryan seems to be a man who is on the verge of violence at any second, barely able to restrain himself, Kroeger is even more chilling. His calm, rational demeanor puts him in a different class of predator - he's good at what he does and he's used to doing it, like Alan Ladd's character in "This Gun For Hire" we can be sure that when committing murder, he feels "Fine, just fine."

Janet Leigh appears as Heflin's wife - it's an early turn for her, and while it is a most stereotypically written "wifey" role, she invests it with all that she has, but the ending is such that we have to wonder just how she will react. Right before that we have a taut scene with Heflin about to confront Ryan while Kroeger is watching. The tension is almost unbearable, all done through editing and camerawork and not one line of dialogue.

Zinnemann would continue to look at war's effects on those who came home in "The Men" as well as "Teresa" and in "Hatful Of Rain" - the man may be the most unheralded of classic film directors, but his resume includes Oscar winners such as "High Noon" and "A Man For All Seasons" as well as such nailbiters as this film and the original "Day of the Jackal."

post -war revenge

[RanchoTuVu · 9/10 · 4 June 2005]

Van Heflin plays a land developer in Los Angeles in the booming years after WW2, whom we see cutting the ribbon on a new sub-division that's opening up. He has a beautiful young wife played by Janet Leigh who adores everything about him and a toddler son as well. When an army buddy played by Robert Ryan unexpectedly shows up, it throws Heflin's little paradise into chaos. His wartime history emerges, presenting a disturbing picture of cowardice and betrayal, things he's kept hidden from everyone, including his wife, but which his own conscience and Ryan as well, won't let him escape. It turns out Ryan's been trailing him from coast to coast. Heflin's disintegration is awesome, one of the finest acting jobs ever. It's all perfectly capped off when he's trying to explain what happened to his unbelieving wife. He winds up on LA's skid row, meeting a party girl who's seen much better days played by Mary Astor, who gets him to confide in her and introduces him to Johnny (Berry Kroeger), someone who can arrange to have all his problems taken care of for a hefty price. The conclusion, a classic western style noir showdown on a breezy night on the railroad tracks, is beautifully done.

Victims Of The Past

[seymourblack-1 · 7/10 · 9 May 2009]

"Act Of Violence" is a powerful and tense melodrama about two men who, during the period immediately following World War 11, are both haunted by the past. The methods by which they struggle to resolve their troubled circumstances differ, as one chooses violent revenge as a solution whilst the other ultimately opts for an even more perversely criminal remedy. Stark visual contrasts are drawn between the brightly lit scenes which celebrate all the optimism and positivity of the period and the more darkly lit ones during which the problems of the recent past are addressed.

Frank Enley (Van Heflin) is a clean cut ex-serviceman who runs his own successful business. He's happily married and well respected in his local community. Joe Parkson (Robert Ryan) is a disabled war veteran who calls at Frank's house and learns from his wife Edith (Janet Leigh) that Frank is away on a fishing trip. Joe pursues Frank to the nearby lake with the intention of killing him but is thwarted when he is unable to get a clear shot at him. When a bartender tells Frank that a stranger with a limp has been asking about him, he immediately panics and heads home.

Frank tells Edith that Joe and he were in a Nazi POW camp together and that he doesn't want to see Joe as he's mentally ill. Frank also admits that it was because of Joe that he moved the family away from their previous home in Syracuse, New York. The couple hide out in their darkened house when Joe calls again and his threatening presence pacing around outside, makes the sound of his irregular stride seem extremely sinister.

When Frank goes to a builders' and contractors' convention in Los Angeles, Joe goes again to his home and tells Edith that he's pursuing Frank because he was responsible for his disability and the deaths of a number of his comrades. At the convention, Joe finds Frank and after a brief scuffle, Frank escapes. He goes to a bar where he meets Pat (Mary Astor) who introduces him to a "lawyer" named Gavery (Taylor Holmes) and a hit man called Johnny (Berry Kroeger) and between them they make an arrangement for Joe to be murdered. The events that take place when the killing is to be carried out, lead to a resolution for both men and some degree of redemption for Frank.

Frank is an archetypal noir character being a rather weak man, haunted by something from his past and who despite his best efforts, is unable to avoid his own destiny. His collusion with the Nazis that led to the deaths of his comrades had been an ill judged action which had been made at a time when he was under duress and the same poor judgement was shown yet again when he made a similar bad decision to conspire with criminals to kill Joe. Neither man is completely noble or unequivocally evil, but both are undoubtedly victims of their recent tragic past. Their story which initially appears to be a simple conflict between good and evil is gradually revealed to be something more complex and disturbing.

Fred Zinnemann's direction and Robert Surtees' cinematography are both excellent and combine effectively to unveil the different aspects of Frank and Joe's characters and also to convey all the associated tension and anxiety that they feel throughout.

"Act Of Violence" certainly grows from its deceptively straightforward looking introduction into an absorbing tale of some substance and profundity.

"A lot of things happened in the war"

[imogensara_smith · 9/10 · 10 December 2007]

"What is it, love trouble or money trouble?" a burnt-out good-time-gal asks the man she just picked up in a bar. She's seen all the troubles in the world, she tells him, "And they boil down to just those two. You're broke, or you're lonely." Most noir films confirm this: the hero is brought down by lust or greed or some combination of the two; by the temptations of crime or the lure of a femme fatale. But this time the world-weary hooker is wrong; her man's problem has nothing to do with love or money. It has to do with the war, when, as the man tells his wife, "A lot of things happened...that you don't understand."

World War II is an undercurrent in many post-war noirs. A generation of men had faced violence and death; they couldn't settle back into their ostentatiously wholesome communities, and they were all too ready to pull out their service revolvers to solve peacetime problems. ACT OF VIOLENCE offers the most direct analysis of the war as a source of noir angst, becoming both one of the best examples of the genre and one of the best films about the effects of war. Four years after America's victory, it was still daring to admit that not all of our boys behaved honorably overseas, and that our prosperity might rest on corrupt foundations.

Frank Enley (Van Heflin) is a perfect image of postwar success, a war hero with a thriving business, a nice house in the suburbs, a beautiful wife and a young son. This idyll of fishing trips and checkered aprons is invaded by Joe Parkson (Robert Ryan), a creepy, limping, gun-wielding, apparently deranged stalker. He was with Frank in the army and in a P.O.W. camp, and holds a mysterious, murderous grudge against him. The first part of the movie plays like a horror film, using magnified sounds--especially the slow, shuffling drag of Parkson's lame leg--in eerie stillness to heighten suspense. As we learn more about what really happened in the war, the black-and-white scenario of threatened innocence unfolds into a complex moral puzzle. Can desperate circumstances or good intentions mitigate an act of betrayal and moral cowardice? Is violent revenge ever justified?

Robert Ryan starts out in typical form: intense, tightly-wound, scary, seething with hate. But we also get to glimpse the suffering and moral outrage that underlie his tortured obsession. His anger might be righteous, but he's still a figure of terror. Van Heflin has the richer part, and he reveals the full measure of his under-appreciated brilliance. He doesn't look like a movie star--he was well described as "attractively homely"--and he doesn't act like a movie star either. He's so transparent and direct; he never advertises what he's doing. Like Arthur Kennedy, he specialized in ambiguity, playing nice guys with something shifty and unreliable about them, or unscrupulous heels with decent cores. Here he evolves from an amiable pillar of the community to a man so sick with self-loathing that he can hardly stand up straight.

In a classic noir trajectory, he moves from the sunny suburbs to the wasteland of an urban night, where the desolate streets around L.A.'s Angel's Flight mirror his state of mind. (The suburbs too have dark shadows and unsettling overtones, like the background motif of the Enleys' baby screaming behind the bars of his crib or playpen, trapped and helpless as his father.) At the end of his rope, Frank meets a friendly, worn-out barfly (a shockingly weathered and tawdry Mary Astor.) Astor works wonders with a clichéd part, all nervous tics and generosity pinched by fear and bad memories. She keeps talking about "getting her kicks"--it's all she has left. "Gee, there's no law says you gotta be happy."

In this seedy underworld, the man with the tortured conscience meets a man with no conscience, a killer-for-hire with a smooth voice and plump, evil face (Barry Kroeger) who plays the part of Satan, tempting Frank to get rid of his problem the easiest way. Heflin manages to retain sympathy for his weak and sometimes despicable character, through the honesty and vividness of his anguish. Fred Zinneman keeps the suspense mounting through taut, spare direction: no excessive music or flashy visuals or extraneous flourishes, just a relentless focus on the collision courses of the main characters, who include Frank's wife (the girlish, gorgeous Janet Leigh) and Parkson's girlfriend (Phyllis Thaxter), who doesn't want her man to be a murderer.

What would you do if you were starving, literally fighting for survival, and you had a chance to save yourself? What if you had done something terrible and knew that only one living witness knew about it? What if you were that witness? There are no easy answers in this movie, which attacks the popular notion that when a war is over it's over, and people can just get on with their lives. An "act of violence" is never the end, it always leads to another.

very good

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 27 December 2014]

"Act of Violence" from 1948, directed by Fred Zinnemann, is a strong noir starring Van Heflin, Robert Ryan, Janet Leigh, and Mary Astor.

Ryan is Joe Parkson, a man disabled in World War II who wants revenge against his old commanding officer, Frank Enley (Heflin). Parkson blames Enley for his disability and comes to town to kill him. Frank has been running from Joe for a while, as his wife (Leigh) mentions that they have moved to several different places. At this point Frank is an absolute pillar of the community in every way. But he's carrying a dark secret, and Joe knows it.

Excellent acting is the strength here, with Heflin giving a fantastic performance of man who slowly disintegrates, and Ryan in a familiar role as a killer. Except, of course, there's more to the story than that. Mary Astor has a small but showy part. Janet Leigh is very young here, playing Frank's adoring wife. Taylor Holmes, in the small role of a sleazeball, does a fantastic job.

Someone on this board made an excellent point. There were complaints that there should have been flashbacks showing what actually happened in the past. The point was made that a) It was a B movie and as such, flashbacks would have added too much time; and b) Because we were a nation of radio listeners back then, audiences had no trouble imagining what happened when they heard the story. I found this fascinating because it's so true and had not occurred to me. For years, we used our imaginations much more than we do today.

a very intelligent film

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 9 February 2006]

Robert Ryan and Van Heflin do a great job in this menacing film. Nice guy Heflin is being stalked and threatened by hot-head Ryan who personally blames him for cowardice and double-dealing during the war. But, since Ryan is so obviously "off his rocker", you really feel for Heflin and his family. After all, can't he just get on with his life? But, just when you think you've got this movie figured out, it hits you with some real surprises and intensity that raise it above the ordinary. Also, I guess I like it because I am a sucker for movies with actors like these two men--rather ordinary looking men who simply could act and act well. See it and see two highly under-appreciated craftsmen.

Robert Ryan is a man bent on vengeance...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 22 September 2006]

Fred Zinnemann does it again. He was a master at film noir during the early '40s, first with some B-films (GRAND CENTRAL MURDER, THE KID GLOVE KILLER--both starring VAN HEFLIN) and some seven or eight years later with ACT OF VIOLENCE. His direction and Robert Surtees' excellent B&W photography make this taut story even more watchable.

VAN HEFLIN goes on a fishing trip and finds himself being shadowed by a man he knows wants to kill him--a man who knows about his past when they were both soldiers and imprisoned in a German prison camp during World War II. When ROBERT RYAN shows up at Heflin's home to inquire about his whereabouts, his wife JANET LEIGH willingly tells Ryan where to find him, not knowing the truth about her husband's past.

From there on, it's a manhunt and at first our loyalties are with Heflin, until it turns out that he's not the hero but an anti-hero who deserves being shot. After this registers, we understand why Ryan is so intent on his mission to kill. Toward the end, Heflin runs into MARY ASTOR, a prostitute with a heart of gold, who tells him what he needs to do to get a hit man get rid of Ryan. But then Heflin, before the kill, has a change of mind. That's all the wrap-up on the story I'll give here.

There's a final twist at the end, but the whole film is absorbing and well worth your time with Heflin, especially, giving one of his most intense performances and Mary Astor doing a vivid job in a small role.

Much More Morally Complex Than the Average Film Noir

[evanston_dad · 9/10 · 6 January 2011]

A surprisingly frank and morally complex film noir released immediately post-WWII.

Van Heflin plays a man who ratted out some fellow soldiers in a Nazi POW camp; Robert Ryan is one of the survivors who comes to seek vengeance on Heflin after they've all returned to the States and have spent time rebuilding their lives. The movie poses difficult questions, much more difficult ones than movies of its kind normally did, and it doesn't let itself off easy by making either Heflin nor Ryan all good or all bad. One of the most daring elements of the film is its suggestion that Heflin is deserving of forgiveness, because the codes of conduct that govern men in the theater of war are different from those that govern us in our day-to-day lives. That maybe doesn't seem like a daring thing to say now, but at the time it would have been.

Heflin and Ryan are both terrific; Ryan is one of my favorite film noir actors. But the women in the film make quite an impression, and no wonder given that two of them are played by Janet Leigh (as Heflin's wife) and Mary Astor (as a world-weary good-time gal who takes Heflin under her protective wing). If the mens' world -- both at war and at home -- is one of violence and revenge, it's the women who act as the voice of reason and sanity, trying to impose a sense of stability amid the chaos.

A really, really good movie.

Grade: A

Well written and played post-World War II drama...

[dwpollar · 7/10 · 8 May 2009]

1st watched 4/27/2009 - (Dir-Fred Zinnemann): Well written and played post-World War II drama that's really about the effect of the war on two veterans due to an act of betrayal that occurred during the event. Both characters, played by Van Heflin and Robert Ryan, are struggling with the event and dealing with it in different ways. Van Heflin's character is a vet who has settled in life by ignoring the act and living his life. Robert Ryan's character has been carrying it with him since leaving the war and plans on acting on his emotions. The Robert Ryan character initially appears to be the enemy of the story, but as things are revealed we understand that Heflin's character ratted on the rest of the group in a nazi war prison and Ryan's character is out to get him for it. The appeal of the movie then is trying to figure out who is the good guy and who is the bad guy. The movie is structured like a typical chase movie but we are shown other characters and how they react to the main characters(primarily the women counterparts). The story then becomes a drama about what was right and what was wrong during war, and can those things be looked at in the same light during civilian times. This is probably the first movie I've seen dealing with this war on a serious level as far as those who we're in it and affected by it. The movie keeps your interested to the very end, not just on a psychological level but also as a mystery. This is a very unique movie that should be viewed by many others and I'm just surprised that I just fell into it at my local library without hearing much about it. So watch it,if you can, you will definitely be rewarded.

Similar to Cape Fear

[HotToastyRag · 5/10 · 7 March 2019]

On one hand, Van Heflin advanced his career with his Oscar win for 1941's Johnny Eager, and on the other hand, he could have sealed his fate to forever play villains with Act of Violence. When you're up against notorious villain Robert Ryan and you're the bad guy, there's a problem. Especially if you're an effective bad guy!

Fans of Cape Fear will love this film noir about one man's quest for revenge after WWII. Van Heflin and his ditzy wife Janet Leigh have a newborn baby and a solid, respectable life. When the limping, brooding Robert Ryan comes along, stalking Van and trying to kill him, everything in their world shatters. For the first half hour, I wondered if this film was in fact an original version of Cape Fear, because the plot and style was so similar. Instead of a lawyer and a disgruntled ex-con, it's a businessman and a disgruntled ex-war buddy. It's not exactly the same, though, so be prepared for an exciting new story with lots of tension. Mary Astor has a small role, as a prostitute who helps Van as he reaches rock bottom. Unlike many Hollywood hookers, Mary isn't glamorous. She's haggard and seedy, like real women in that profession.

The realism stops with Mary, since Janet is so horrendously stupid. She knows a dangerous armed man is trying to kill her husband, and she leaves her baby alone in the house while she goes next door to talk to her neighbor. Then, she leaves her baby in the neighbor's care when she leaves town, endangering that poor woman's life as well as her child's, since the first thing Robert Ryan does is cozy up to her for information! Give it a try, though, if you like Cape Fear.

A minor classic

[superstar49 · 8/10 · 24 July 2000]

I caught this film on TCM recently. At first I wasn't sure if I would like it but was sucked in thanks to the mystery of why Van Heflin's character was being stalked by Robert Ryan. Revealing why would spoil it for most people, but I highly recommend watching the film. Quite frankly this could be another classic Hollywood film noir, as it takes place in 1940's Los Angeles, and includes many famous landmarks, like the extinct "Angel's Flight."

Janet Leigh, in her fifth film, gives a fine performance as Heflin's concerned wife, and Mary Astor is a real delight as the woman who befriends Heflin in his state of panic.

This would make an excellent remake today, if done in the style of "L.A. Confidential." Catch this film sometime if you can. You'll enjoy it.

Appointment with Retribution

[krorie · 10/10 · 21 July 2006]

"Act of Violence" is the penultimate noir film, containing many key elements that made the genre so formidable. Coming a year before Carol Reed's classic "The Third Man," the imagery of the tunnel as a symbol for the search for redemption is presented already full blown by Fred Zinnemann. The effective utilization of urban nocturnal sounds in place of music punctuate the mood of desperation and hopelessness like a sharp knife slashing the soul asunder. What can be more lonely than a distant train whistle in the middle of a dark night? Or wind whistling through the eves of houses occupied by deserted, lost individuals? No place is as desolate as the empty streets of a large city in the wee hours of morning just before dawn. Zinnemann and his superb cameraman, Robert Surtees, provide these chilling images plus so much more.

Who can forget Frank R. Enley (Van Heflin at his best) escaping from his demons, not just limping Joe Parkson (Robert Ryan) or bad boy Johnny (Berry Kroeger), through a vacant tunnel screaming at the top of his lungs, "Don't do it, Joe...Don't...." Or the scenes of Joe running down oppressive stairways to get away from the specters that haunt him. His actions are not enough to justify recompense. Recompense comes only at the end of the film, not a closing that most would want or expect in a Hollywood film of the day, but the required one for the theme of the story.

The entire cast of "Act of Violence" is first rate, giving performances worthy of recognition, but veteran actress Mary Astor as the lost soul, Pat, who takes an ambivalent attitude toward Frank, runs away with the show. She portrays despair and desperation writ large. Pat's human side wants to help Frank, to free him of the hell hounds nipping at his heels. But the survival part of Pat wants to throw him to the wolves for a pittance. A telling scene occurs when Johnny nonchalantly dashes a drink into her face for attempting to aid Frank. She reacts in an impassive manner, as if this were a daily occurrence. Pat is perennially at the mercy of men who treat her like trash. She views life the same way she views men.

One other performance of note comes from Taylor Holmes as Gavery, the aged shyster lawyer. Holmes makes his small part shine, becoming the epitome of an intelligent, educated professional, corrupted by greed and ego. His surroundings suggest Gavery is debarred, now living on funds extorted or purloined from illegal activities. Johnny, played to perfection by Berry Kroeger, is a crude, immoral mental dwarf ruled by emotion and violence, a counterpart to Holmes who uses punks such as Johnny to do the dirty work and be the patsy if caught. Johnny is also a foil for Joe who seeks to kill Frank for moral, altruism reasons.

The script by Robert Richards from a story by Collier Young is not much and would have withered on the vine in the hands of a journeyman director. Fred Zinnemann and cinematographer Robert Surtees breathe life into the routine story to make it one of the best noir thrillers of them all, innovative and entertaining. A leading citizen of a small town, Frank Enley, is being stalked by a former army buddy, Joe Parkson, because of an incident that took place in a German POW camp that led to the death of several fellow soldiers. Joe was left for dead but miraculously survived to hunt down the informer, Frank, and kill him. Frank attempts to escape by hiding out in a seedy section of Los Angeles. He meets a fellow creature of the night, Pat, who introduces him to a hit-man, Johnny. While drunk and out of his mind, Frank makes a deal with the devil. Realizing too late what he has done, Frank rushes to stop the inevitable.

Noir Comes to Suburbia

[dougdoepke · 26 August 2010]

What a great "character" shot when crippled Joe (Ryan) tries to cross the parade line, is turned back, only to limp obsessively across a moment later. Makes no difference to him that it's a patriotic parade. He's in his own world of revenge and by golly nothing's going to stop his mission. This one clever scene tells us more about Joe than a hundred lines of expository dialog.

It's aces all around for this front-rank noir. But I especially like the sneaky screenplay. Frank (Heflin) doesn't interrupt patriotic parades; instead, as ex-air force captain, he speaks at them. Plus, he's a friendly guy with a great young wife (Leigh) and toddler kid, a nice suburban home, and a growing business. Yes indeed, Frank is clearly Mr. America returned home successfully from the war. So why does the obsessed Joe want to kill Mr. America. That limp seems to point to a moral defect as well as a physical one, while he's got all the personality of a coiled rattler.

As a result, we have certain expectations about who these two guys are and how they will act as the suspense builds. But surprisingly, as events unfold, the screenplay peels back appearances with enough nuance that we may not be aware of the reversal until the end. And in the process, the movie produces one of the more subtly iconoclastic dramas of the noir period.

The casting here is flawless. It's Ryan at his darkest and most relentless, and Heflin at his plainest and low-key best. But I especially like the three women—Leigh, Thaxter, and Astor. Their parts are easily overlooked amidst the male-driven suspense, but each performs expertly in demanding roles. And unusual for noir, each tries to perform a healing role for her wounded man, though Pat's (Astor) methods are borrowed from the dark side. At the same time, throw in two icons from noir—the slippery Taylor Holmes (the shady lawyer) and the slimy Barry Kroeger (the hit-man), and you've got an all-star cast of characters.

My only reservation is with the last ten minutes. The depot and runaway car sequence was obviously staged to entertain the eye and not necessarily to be believed. I'm all for artistic license and the sequence is beautifully photographed-- it just strikes me as stagier and more artificial than it should be. Nonetheless, this is one of the more surprising and unusual noirs from the classic postwar period, and certainly merits a look-see.

"You can't suffer all your life for one mistake"

[Steffi_P · 7/10 · 16 April 2009]

In the period immediately after Word War Two there was this massive divergence of moods in cinema, with fantastical escapism on the one hand, and dark pessimism on the other. This was particularly pronounced at MGM. Although the Arthur Freed unit was carrying on the studio's reputation for dreamlike extravagance, new production chief Dore Schary was also pushing a line of frank and gritty "message" movies, many of which dealt directly with the recent conflict.

Act of Violence runs like a kind of dark flipside to the sublimely poignant Best Years of Our Lives, which won Best Picture for MGM a few years earlier. The director is Fred Zinnemann, who would later film a couple of Best Pictures himself, but at this point was still honing his craft in the B-unit. As in the handful of other features he had made up to this point, his primary concern seems to be creating atmosphere and tension through use of space and lighting. Virtually every shot is filled with streaking shadows and stifling frames, and to be honest this is all laid on a bit too heavily, even if it is very precise. Ironically though, his aim to give the picture this consistent claustrophobic feel means that sometimes he is forced to achieve it more subtly – for example in the shot where Robert Ryan crosses the road in front of the military parade, Zinnemann frames the action neatly with objects and people. The effect is the same but it looks very natural and unforced.

Zinnemann also gets to prove his ability at handling action scenes. This is something directors usually perfect sooner than they do drama, which again is ironic for Zinnemann as he would spend most of his later career making deep dramatic pictures with little action. His staging of drama is coming along here though. He does a lot of long takes in dialogue scenes, where against cinematic convention one actor has their back to the camera whilst talking, thus focusing us on the reactions of the listener. One of the strongest pieces of direction however is the way Zinnemann introduces the two lead characters. We first see Ryan walking from a distance, then closer to, but from behind, we then see he has a gun, and then we finally pan up to his face. We are thus given clues as to the kind of man he is and what he may be capable of before we are allowed to connect with the character. The opposite approach is taken for Van Heflin, who is introduced to us with a big facial close-up, which would have been meaningful to audiences of the day as they would know Heflin and the sort of characters he played. From this point on Zinnemann allows the story to deconstruct Heflin's stereotype and add flesh to Ryan's.

This intelligent focus on actors naturally brings out the best in the performances. Heflin's is strong if a tiny bit overdone at times. He probably relished this chance to show off his range. Ryan sadly doesn't get to do enough with this character, but he has great presence, and that is essentially what his character is for most of the movie – a presence. Mary Astor is great too – another player with fantastic range. I'll also mention Berry Kroeger, who plays the hit-man Johnnie, and was clearly cast as a face to fit the part, yet he does a pretty good acting job as well.

One thing that does link these darker MGM post-war flicks with the studio's lighter upbeat fare is a kind of melodramatic overstatement, which is great in the right place but harms a picture like Act of Violence. In spite of the staccato, atonal intro, the music is largely schmaltzy strings spoiling the sincerity of the dramatic moments. The dialogue is fairly trite and unmemorable. It is mainly the good acting and competent direction which saves this one.

Very rewarding and highly recommended

[christopher-underwood · 8/10 · 20 August 2007]

Whilst not strictly a noir, this excellent and tense movie has many noir moments and all the night location photography has exactly the right look, especially the fantastic railway track side denouement. Never predictable this film takes many turns as the truth of what had happened in the wartime past of the main characters is gradually revealed.

Extremely well paced with intelligent dialogue whilst the leads chase about after and away from each other we are left to assess and re-assess just who the baddie really is. In the end, however, it is the only ending possible. Very rewarding and highly recommended.

The Ghost At The Banquet.

[rmax304823 · 6/10 · 14 May 2007]

It's an unusual movie for MGM, known best for its family movies. Think "Little Women" and "Meet Me in St. Louis." This is pretty dark stuff, visually and otherwise.

Van Heflin is a contractor in a Los Angeles suburb, when Los Angeles still had suburbs. He's evidently the kind of contractor who's best at turning orange groves into monopoly houses so he's rich and respectable, with a beautiful young wife (Janet Leigh) and a child. He leads a life on the sunny side of the brand new street in Santa Lisa.

However we soon find that he's being tracked by the lame Robert Ryan. Ryan has black glittering eyes and carries an automatic and seems to be sneering all the time, consumed by a mysterious incandescent hatred for Heflin. Ryan tracks Heflin to a nice lake up in the mountains, then back to his home, then to a contractor's convention in Los Angeles. Heflin doesn't find out that he's being followed until half an hour or so into the film, but he realizes at once the reason for the pursuit. Heflin rushes in a panic through the empty wind-swept streets of LA at night, looking for the courage to kill himself, finally falling in with hooker Mary Astor and her louche friends, one of whom (Barry Kroger) he hires to wipe out Ryan before Ryan can get to him. But he's so fagged out, half drunk, when he makes the deal that the next day he must have Astor explain it to him. When he stumbles back to his house in the suburbs, Janet Leigh greets him with a big smile and chirps, "That suit will have to go to the cleaners. And you're a mess." Later we see her knitting socks or something. Those were the days.

So what did Van Heflin do and why is Robert Ryan going to kill him? They were POWs in the same Stalag. Heflin found that Ryan and a dozen others were to try an escape through a tunnel that the Germans knew about. Heflin couldn't dissuade Ryan, though other POWs had been killed trying the same route. So Captain Heflin went to the Germans and, after getting them to promise to go easy on the would-be escapees, he informed on them. The Germans fed him for that, while others were near starvation, but Heflin didn't care. He ate. He even ate while the Nazis went back on their word, bayoneted the escapees, and left them writhing and whining like run-over dogs. Ryan managed to escape by playing dead and now Ryan seeks revenge for himself and the dead men. Heflin pays for his sins by getting himself and Barry Kroger killed in the process of saving Ryan's life.

This is a more interesting film than it seems at the start. Oh, we know more or less right away that Heflin has done something bad, but Ryan's trench-coated, limping, scowling figure is so menacing that he seems to be not much more than a stock villain. You know, maybe Heflin quit the gang without permission or something. Or maybe he squealed on the boss. But, no. It's a more grown-up film than that. Heflin can no longer remember whether he informed to save the lives of his men or just for a loaf of bread. The evil influence here, Kroger as the hit man aside, is war. War seems to have a habit of corrupting at least as many of its participants as it ennobles, so it should probably be avoided.

The photography, by Robert Surtees, is exceptional. Evocative location shooting, from a lake shimmering under the sun, to seedy urban streets along which the wind machines blow shreds of paper. Fred Zinneman directed.

The problem with the movie, the thing that keeps it from being better than it is, is the dialog. It's flat and strictly functional. It doesn't give any of the characters much depth. There is nothing in this movie, for instance, to equal the scene in "Crossfire" in which Paul Kelly comes up with his surreal monologues. All the performances are good but none are memorable.

One of Zinnemann's best and most underrated films

[MOscarbradley · 10/10 · 28 April 2015]

Fred Zinnemann made "Act of Violence" in 1948 before the solid, literary adaptations that made his reputation. It's a terrific piece of work, a truly taut thriller and yes, you could say very Un-Zinnemann like. The act of violence of the title is two-fold. It could refer to Robert Ryan's desire to kill Van Heflin or it could equally refer to the act of violence that Heflin was responsible for when a number of his men, during the war, were murdered by the Nazis after he betrayed them. Heflin now lives a life of almost desperate respectability in a small Californian town with wife Janet Leigh and it's to there that Ryan tracks him down.

This is a morally complex film that was never the success it deserved to be. Both Heflin and Ryan are superb and Leigh, too, is excellent as the wife trying to come to terms with her husband's past. There is also a terrific, and sadly neglected, supporting turn from Mary Astor as an ageing prostitute. It was shot magnificently and on actual locations, in black and white, by Robert Surtees and it remains one of Zinnemann's very finest films.

Noir that doesn't completely add up

[Turfseer · 6/10 · 30 November 2007]

One of the surprising aspects of this movie is the absence of flashbacks to depict the events that took place in a POW camp during World War II. The director, Fred Zinnemann, opted for voice-overs in the famous "tunnel" scene, which ultimately proved insufficient in exploring the motivations of the characters.

Given the significant plot elements tied to the POW camp, I expected a more compelling reason for Frank Enley (Van Heflin) to trust the Nazis and sabotage the escape plan. It is uncommon to come across a World War II story where a US commanding officer in a POW camp decides to place trust in the enemy to save his men. In most war films, it is the commanders who willingly endure punishment to protect their soldiers. While Bridge Over the River Kwai depicted a form of "collaboration" driven by misguided pride, it differs significantly from actively seeking out the enemy and divulging escape plans.

Moreover, it has always been the primary goal of American POWs to escape captivity. Consequently, it was challenging to believe the notion that Enley would actively prevent his fellow prisoners from attempting an escape.

The inclusion of flashbacks would have allowed for a deeper exploration of Enley's personality and the other characters within the prison camp, potentially offering a more convincing motivation for Enley's betrayal. If the flashbacks had revealed Enley as a "coward," for instance, it could have provided a more plausible explanation. However, the depiction of Enley after the war presents him as a civic-minded family man and an overall good person who enjoys fishing with his neighbor. It would have been a stretch to portray him as a coward beneath that exterior.

If Enley genuinely wanted to prevent the escape attempt, an alternative approach could have involved a direct confrontation with Parkson before he entered the tunnel or creating a diversion where Enley would take the blame and be confined to the "cooler," reminiscent of Steve McQueen's character in a similar situation in the film "The Great Escape."

Another issue with the plot is the lack of clarity regarding how Parkson discovers that Enley set him and the other men up. If the Army investigators obtained this information from the Nazis after the war, it would have led to a court-martial for Enley. Unfortunately, this aspect is not adequately explained.

Parkson, as a character, feels underdeveloped, primarily driven by revenge. Additionally, it is difficult to comprehend why Mary Astor's character would bring a complete stranger back to her apartment. The film doesn't establish her initial interest in Enley beyond his vulnerable state when they first meet. It seems her actions are driven by a clichéd "heart of gold" trope.

Lastly, the ending lacks conviction. Parkson's overwhelming desire for revenge raises doubts as to why he suddenly appreciates Enley's intervention in saving his life by thwarting the gangster's attempt to shoot him. Throughout the film, Parkson appears indifferent to the consequences of his actions. Shooting Enley would result in his own imprisonment, but he seems unconcerned. Now, with Enley saving his life, Parkson's opinion of him suddenly changes? It is implausible that Parkson would be the one to break the news of Enley's death to his wife. This sudden shift in Parkson's character is unconvincing and undermines the film's credibility.

It appears that the writers felt compelled to kill off Enley as a form of atonement for his "mistake." However, the supposed naivety of Enley regarding the Nazis was not convincingly portrayed. Despite these flaws, the film maintains a brisk pace and manages to hold the viewer's interest, although it relies on a simplistic premise.

Beautiful Classic Noir Cinematography

[ZenVortex · 10/10 · 7 April 2009]

Stylistically, this is one the best films noir ever made. Beautiful classic noir cinematography from beginning to end. Taut direction and great performances from the entire cast make this a true classic.

In one of his best roles, Van Heflin convincingly portrays a WW2 veteran who has rebuilt his life as a civic leader in small town America. Janet Leigh is perfect as his naive, adoring wife, and together they are living the American dream when suddenly his past comes back to haunt him in the form of menacing, gun-toting Robert Ryan.

As the film unfolds, we learn about Van Heflin's tragic secret and the inner demons that torment his soul. Relentlessly pursued by Ryan, who is on a mission of vengeance, Van Heflin finds solace in the company of Mary Astor, who delivers an effective performance as an aging prostitute with useful connections. The tension builds relentlessly until Van Heflin finds redemption in a Western-style shootout beside the town's railroad tracks.

This beautifully crafted film epitomizes the noir style and is not to be missed.

Your not going to bring those men back, your just gonna smash a few more lives!

[sol1218 · 7/10 · 6 August 2006]

**SPOILERS** Having found out in the local newspapers that Frank Enley, Van Haflin, is going to speak at the Memorial Day ceremony at Santa Lisa Calif. disable war vet Joe Parkson, Robert Ryan, takes off on a Grayhound bus from NYC to see him. Joe and his fellow airman Frank had been in a German POW camp in the last months of WWII and you at first would have thought that he went to see him to talk over old times in the USAAF but that was the farthest thing from Joe's mind. Joe wanted to kill Frank for informing on his fellow POW's that resulted in ten of them being gunned down in an escape attempt by the Germans camp guards with Joe ending up a cripple.

Unstable war vet Joe Parkson feels that he has nothing to lose, since he felt that he lost everything in the war, as he goes on a mission of death to avenge the deaths of his fellow captured US airmen. Joe cases out the Enley home even knocking on the front door and finding that the object of his revenge,Frank, has gone away for the weekend fishing at Redwood Lake from his unsuspecting wife Edith, Janet Leigh. Renting a car and going to Redwood Lake to confront and murder Frank Joe leaves enough of a paper trail, by giving his whereabouts away, to have Frank realize that he's in Santa Lisa and out to kill him.

Edith who at first is shocked at what her husband told her about his actions in the prison camp but realizes that Frank's actions, as despicable as they seemed to be, were done to prevent the airmen from ending up getting mowed down by the Germans since the escape attempt was nothing more then a suicide mission. Frank, being the senior officer and in charge of the POW's, went to the German commandant and told him what was about to transpire who promised that they, the Germens, won't shoot the escapees but capture and return them back to the prison camp, the exact opposite happened. The escaped prisoners were gunned down by the Germans who then had a number of German guard dog set on them finishing off those who survived with only the badly injured Joe Packston escaping.

You would think at first that all Frank had to do was call the police who would have easily arrested Joe who wasn't doing anything to hide his intentions of murdering Frank. You soon realized that Frank held himself as guilty as Joe did by his not only turning his fellow US airmen in but also,and this really hit home with Frank, receiving and accepting food from his German captures for doing it.

Afride for his wife Edith and young son Frank checks out of Santa Lisa to L.A at a contractor convention to draw Joe away from his family but the guilt that had been building up inside of him, about his actions in the prison camp, was slowly getting the best of Frank. Spotting Joe looking for him at the convention hall Frank cold-cocks him and takes off into the night ending up in a ginmill where he's approached by local barfly Pat, Mary Astor, who senses that he needs help, of the underhanded kind. Getting in touch with a couple of local shady characters that Pat knows she get the confused and befuddled Frank to agree to have Joe whacked for $20,000.00. Told that hit-man Johnny, Barry Kroeger, has set up Joe for the kill and is going to Santa Lisa to do a job on him has Frank make a complete turnaround. Frank's now determined not to stop Joe from murdering him but Barry from murdering Joe and having that on his conscience together with the ten men who were killed by the Germans at the prison camp. Meanwhile Joe's girlfriend from back east Ann, Phyllis Thaxter,had arrived to also stop her boyfriend from killing Frank and ending up either behind bars, or in a mental institution, for the rest of his life and gets in touch with Edith to get her to have her husband Frank slip out of town to prevent Joe from killing him.

Frank by now had already made up his mind and is no longer afraid of being killed, feels that his actions in the German POW camp justified Joe's feelings for him. What he now want's is for Joe not to be killed by Barry and goes out to the Santa Lisa train station where Barry had set Joe up for the hit and prevent it from happening even if by doing that it would cost him his life.

Even though a bit contrived with a very predictable ending that you saw coming from ten miles away the movie still held your interests due to the fine acting of both Van Hefin and Robert Ryan who made you overlook most, if not all, of the movies faults. With the two top stars, as well as the supporting cast, overcoming the very uneven storyline and script that they had to work with.

Has script problems!

[JohnHowardReid · 5/10 · 14 May 2018]

Despite some sterling efforts by director and photographer, it is hard to work up much interest in this psychological thriller. The characters are unconvincing - and the stars don't help: Van Heflin goes through his usual motions ("Register shock, Van!"), Janet Leigh lays on the mousey housewife bit with a trowel, Phyllis Thaxter once again does her duty by the worried and sympathetic friend, and Robert Ryan is so hammily obvious a neurotic nut, it's impossible to understand why he was not carted off to the psycho ward the minute he stuck his head out of doors.

The supporting cast is much more realistic and lifelike, with Mary Astor, Taylor Holmes and Berry Kroeger trying valiantly to give their roles depth and conviction - though they are largely defeated by the script. Still, at least they succeed in making their portrayals interesting - which is more than one can say for the star performers.

The actual plot mechanics are dated and old-hat now, but the script could have succeeded - despite its unconvincing characters - had the writers made some effort to preserve the dramatic unities. Here is a yarn that is a natural for a tight time span (say no more than ten or twelve-hours) and for confinement to the environs of a particular locale.

Instead, the story meanders all over the place, introducing superfluous characters at every turn and having no sense of urgency. And then it tacks on a ridiculous, melodramatic climax that conveniently avoids having to deal with the moral or social issues previously raised!